


Robian

by Northerly_Zephyr



Series: Shadows [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series
Genre: A shameless love letter to SatAM, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And also the Archie comic, BAMF Badniks, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hero Metal Sonic, Ignores some parts of the Genesis Waves, Mishmash of SatAM Some Game Stuff And Archie Comics, Villain!Sonic(?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-09-05 13:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16812043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northerly_Zephyr/pseuds/Northerly_Zephyr
Summary: On a Mobius where the self-proclaimed 'Emperor Sonic' uses his vast, seemingly never-ending army of robots to try and rule with an iron fist while aggressively attempting to expand his influence beyond the Acorn Archipelago, a resistance group has formed deep within the Great Forest led by the dethroned Prince Elias Acorn, the only member of the royal family that seems to have survived Sonic's march on Mobotropolis five years ago.Knowing they can never match Sonic's speed, the mechanical genius Miles 'Tails' Prower arranges to steal a sentience core out from under the 'Emperor' 's nose to create what he and Rotor decide to call a 'Robian', a fully sentient robot with a personality and free will- one also specifically engineered to keep up with Sonic.Dark shadows are concealing those pulling more than a few strings, however, and the Order of Acorn will need to pierce them in a hurry to survive.Book 1 of the Shadows series.





	1. Sentience

Bunnie Rabbot had _known_ this would be a really bad idea, but that was exactly _why_ she'd agreed to tag along, right?

Her organic half was sweating heavily and the partially roboticized Mobian was deeply grateful for the almost endless stamina of her metal legs as she sprinted forward through the musty, dank and almost entirely black sewers of the mostly ruined Mobotropolis while she had a currently unconscious Miles Prower slung across her back, Bunnie holding his legs with her arms and his arms tucked under her chin, the rabbit's head tilted forward in an effort to keep his crossed hands gently pinned in position. She fervently hoped that the orange twin-tailed fox still had the sentience core that they'd risked so much to acquire securely tucked into the small red pack on his back.

Bunnie _also_ silently hoped that _he_ didn't decide to have some 'fun' tonight and personally come after them, because no amount of speed she could muster with her artificial appendages would be enough if he did.

The rabbit knew she was making a lot of noise between the loud splashing of the fetid, rancid water slapping around her heavy, metallic feet and her labored breathing due to the exertion of trying to keep Tails both on her back and in one piece, but things had gone _way_ too far south to try and stay stealthy at this point. Elias would no doubt be a mix of perturbed and _very_ worried that they'd used what few mechanical stun grenades Tails and Rotor managed to scrape together the materials to make on this little unapproved side mission. Bunnie's face contorted into a grimace due to both the horrible odor surrounding her _and_ the thought of the verbal shellacking she and Tails were probably both in for when they got back to the safety of the Grand Den. There was _no way_ Bunnie would have let the young two-tailed fox go by himself into the depths of Mobotropolis, though- not only had Miles, affectionately known as 'Tails' to most of them, become a blend of little brother and son to her over time, but his incredible mind was _far_ too valuable of a resource to risk.

"Ugh...Bun...got it...still." Tails softly speaking startled Bunnie a bit as she felt his arms tense under her tucked chin as the young fox stirred to consciousness, her long ear swivelling towards his head that was resting on her left shoulder before she resumed listening for the sounds of the mechanical army they were trying to avoid as she finally hit dry land, quickly using her cybernetic arm to tear off the large sewer grate in front of her. Bunnie practically gulped in the fresh air as they emerged, the delicate, damp scent of the late evening much more pleasant than the stench of the sewer.

The rabbit relaxed as bit as she turned her ear behind them, noticing that the cacophony of of mechanical clicking and whirring that had been nipping at their heels finally began receding back into the overtaken metropolis. _Well, that's it for the city 'bots seems like...now we just have to worry about all the exterior patrols._ Bunnie was relieved that they at least still had their prize as she slid the large grate back into place, though there was still the long, very dangerous trek back home. "Tha's great, sugah. Now stop talkin' an' rest up while Ah get us home, tha' was a real bad knock y' got from that Swatbot." They'd need to find a new way in if they hoped to keep scrounging for parts and supplies- this was now their fourth trip using this particular entrance, and more than three times using the same point of entry into the now ruined Mobian capital had landed the Order in trouble in the past. _Another tunnel to have Vanilla cross off the list for a while 'till the heat dies down._

"Sorry...tried to be careful..." Bunnie could hear the regret in Tails' tone even through his half-conscious slurring as she started a carefully, deliberately zigzagging, meandering path through the barren, scorched fields surrounding the fallen capital, occasionally using large rubble and a few small trees clinging tenuously to life as cover. She then felt Tails cringe even through the heavy leather armor she was currently wearing, his body shrinking away from her and into itself a bit before the fox relaxed and continued. "Almost got us caught..."

"We'll talk about i' later alright? Now this here's where th' patrols get real nasty. Can y' manage t' use your arms so Ah can keep m' head free, sugah? Ah'm gonna use a ring but you'll need t' hold on while Ah do." He didn't verbally respond but she could feel Tails' gloved grip grow stronger under her chin, so Bunnie released his hands and looked upwards. Jungle green eyes intently scanned the horizon and sky for any immediate threats before gently placing her friend down, Tails wobbling a bit as he stood on unsteady feet and gingerly rubbed the spot on the side of his head where a Swatbot had managed to land a nasty punch. Bunnie then took off and opened up the dingy grey pack that had been on her own back, taking out two large, golden rings from it that gently shimmered with the Ring Energy contained within them. "Good thing Ah thought t' sneak a couple a' these out with us, eh?"

"You brought _two_?" Tails' eyes widened in concern, his eyes and tone both clearing, then filling with worry and shock even as he tried to remain quiet. "Oh _man_ , I figured you'd maybe bring one! Rotor is _definitely_ gonna notice when he does the daily check and-" He winced and clutched the side of his head.

"Nah." Bunnie shook her head before offering Tails a crooked smile and wink. "Ah brought _five._ " She then placed the two rings she'd extracted around her neck, wearing them like a pair of oversize necklaces. "An' actually Ah brought 'em with Rotor's blessin'- he fudged inventory an' helped me sneak 'em. He's real interested in this idea you've got cookin' an' wants t' see what th' sentience core can do too." She then closed the pack back up, deciding not to mention that she'd already had to use one of the rings' charges to get them out of the very sticky situation earlier, one of the three rings still in her pack now a dull, lifeless bronze. "Now hop on an' let's get us an' that core back home."

Tails nodded and let Bunnie lift him onto her back again, gripping his hands together tightly after circling his arms loosely around the rabbit's neck. Bunnie grabbed one of rings around her neck and gently bit it before feeling the Ring Energy flow through her, her body starting to feeling refreshed and re-energized as what always seemed to her like a kind of magic worked its way through her body after she released the ring from her mouth, the ring's earlier luster now gone. Even her mechanical half softly whirred and groaned in positive response to the power as she lifted Tails' legs up and Tails settled into her back again. "Count down for me, will ya sugah? Ah'll be too distracted." She then started sprinting much faster than she normally could due to the Ring Energy currently flowing through her, the world zipping by at a much quicker speed.

"Fifty tics left, and we have company coming to our right!" called Tails, shaking her shoulder softly before Bunnie glanced over, seeing a rapidly approaching Swatbot patrol that had likely locked onto their heat signatures and decided to investigate. The speed boost was always more than slightly disorienting when she tried to focus on other things besides moving, Bunnie trying desperately to gauge the distance between the incoming robots and her and Tails and how long the inevitable clash would take. "We're all out of disabling grenades, too! We used them all in the storage room where we got the core."

"Ah know. Hang on tight! Ah'm gonna let 'em come to us an' try an' let's try an' smash 'em before Ah'm outta juice." Bunnie still made her way in the general direction of the Great Forest, though she now steered her course slightly towards the Swatbots, attempting to try and force the encounter with as much of the Ring Energy still flowing through her as possible. She _really_ wanted to save the rest of the rings they had to make the trip home safely and quickly.

"Forty! Here they come!" Tails braced himself and clung tightly as Bunnie leapt up into the sky, aiming herself and crashing down with the full weight of her unusually heavy body onto the shoulders of the first Swatbot in the group, driving it down into the ground before there was an explosion of sparks, smoke and fire. The other five Swatbots in the group briefly turned their metallic heads towards the explosion before large spikes shot out of all of the Swatbot's shoulders. Bunnie sighed audibly as the large bipedal robots began to circle her and Tails. _This_ was why it was always so much easier to have a few of the disabling grenades on hand before sorties close to the fallen capital- the machines seemed to have a way of communicating how they had been defeated to the others when they were destroyed and those remaining would then adjust accordingly with what seemed to be an ever-expanding litany of enhancements, fights with any size group of them becoming increasingly dangerous as they went on because most of the time, you couldn't defeat any two of them in the same way. "I'll take off one's head, you aim for one's chest! Thirty!"

Bunnie felt Tails leap off her back before he charged towards one of the other four Swatbots while veering erratically, dodging a few laser potshots as he extracted a long whip from a pouch at his side and snared the Swatbot's head, using the whip's length along with some leverage and distance Tails quickly created by running to tear the Swatbot's head clean off. A shower of sparks emerged from where the Swatbot's head had been before the body slumped a bit forward lifelessly, the robot attempting to start a self-repair that Tails halted by jumping up a bit, hovering with his tails and pouring water from his canteen directly down into the Swatbot's now exposed circuits, frying enough to fully disable the 'bot. Bunnie charged directly forward at the third Swatbot before unleashing a Ring Energy-enhanced kick into its chest, the metal caving in around her foot before the bot's function core popped out of a newly created hole in its backside along with assorted wiring. She yanked her foot free forcefully and ran around to the bot's back and crushed the core with her cyborg hand. _Three down, two to go._ Bunnie could feel her enhanced power beginning to wane.

The last two robots now had metal plates covering their chests and surrounding the sides and back of their head in addition to the spikes from earlier, Tails trying to keep one distracted as he ran around and rooted around in his pouch. With the last of the ring-enhanced energy she had, Bunnie rolled into herself and jetted forward, spinning at high speed before she crashed into the legs of the closest Swatbot to her like a bowling ball, its mechanical legs flying apart and the upper head and torso crashing to the ground with a thud. She felt the last remnants of the Ring Energy leave her as soon as the robot fell, Bunnie quickly having an internal debate about whether she wanted to use the second ring to help finish off the final Swatbot or save it to get them out of there. Tails settled the debate for her by pulling the pin on a grenade that he'd apparently fished out of his pouch and shoving it right into a gap in the Swatbot's head plating, then running towards the rabbit while yelling "LIVE!"

After they ducked and covered for the resulting explosion, Bunnie knew they needed to get moving, and _fast_. "We're scootin' right now, there's gonna be more'n we can handle soon sugah! Tha' was long enough for them t' have called in backup an' that grenade'll surely grab even more attention." The rabbit bit the second ring around her neck and grabbed Tails' hand before lifting him back onto her back, quickly speeding away from the scene of the fight and into the outskirts of the Great Forest.

* * *

"Rotor." Elias Acorn approached a purple walrus who was currently hidden while busying himself with repairs on a well-concealed bright red biplane that was sitting in the middle of a tiny, makeshift grass airfield. The task was generally only performed under the safety and cover of darkness, and only a small light occasionally glinting from under the plane gave away the other's position, the soft calls of assorted nocturnal wildlife occasionally filling the quiet air above the Grand Den. "A quick word, if I may?"

"Sure." Rotor rolled out from under the plane on a battered wooden creeper and offered the leader of the Order of Acorn a smile. "What can I help with, Your Highness?"

Elias's nose wrinkled in distaste at the same time that his eyes filled with pain. "I don't deserve that title, as I keep telling you all." He closed his eyes and reopened them after a deep breath, refocusing on the matter at hand. "However, I couldn't help but notice that, well, our inventory seems to be...missing a few things that your sheet says should be there, hmm? Along with us currently missing two particular members." He smiled a bit and quirked a brow. "And for some strange reason I can't shake the feeling that these two events may _just possibly_ be connected."

Rotor glanced around nervously before deciding to go with the truth. Hopefully he could drag out the explanation to buy Bunnie and Tails some more time. "Um, _maybe_ , yeah."

The dethroned royal laughed softly. "As I thought. Let's go down to my office so that you can fill me in on what exactly's going on, please." He waited for Rotor to put his tools away before the pair headed towards the secret entrance to the headquarters of their resistance group. The scent of earth filled both of their noses after they knocked the special code on what to all appearances seemed to be nothing more than a tree stump, the top of the stump swinging open and revealing a ladder descending into the earth. Elias and Rotor both quickly descended after ensuring that the stump resealed properly, the always vigilant crocodile Vector standing guard and greeting them both with a wave. "Still ain't seen Bunnie or Tails around, boss."

"Thank you, Vector. I believe we'll be able to get to the root of this soon." Elias offered Rotor a sideways glance that was both amused and pointed at once, Rotor nodding as they wandered into the underground complex proper. The carefully gnarled mass of tunnels, individual rooms, group rooms and storage stretched out into the depths of Mobius, and there were several entrances and exits in various locations around the Great Forest. A few minutes of walking and checking in with the others currently present brought them to Elias's personal office. After the pair entered and got settled into the sparsely furnished office, Elias nodded at Rotor. "So please _do_ explain. I'm assuming they had some form of business in Mobotropolis since they took our entire supply of disabling grenades and more than a few of our rings as well."

"Yeah, exactly." Rotor nodded eagerly. "Well, see, Tails had this _awesome_ idea and-"

The pair was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," called Elias before Tails and Bunnie stepped into the room.

"Ah'm guessin' you're wantin' t' know why we snuck off an' figured out tha' Rotor gave us a hand, Elias," began Bunnie with a grin. "Well now tha' we got th' thing, Tails can explain."

Tails nodded firmly before extracting the sentience core from his backpack. "I wanna build a robot that can beat _him_ , with Rotor's help." Tails stared down at the sentience core in his hand. "And with this, I'm very confident we can."

Elias's eyes widened. "You mean something to take on _Sonic_?"

"Exactly. We know none of us, even using Ring Energy, have a chance of keeping up with him...but what about a _robot_ specially built for speed?" Tails grinned. "And this is a _very special_ kind of operating core, one that Bunnie helped me finally get. You know how a few of Sonic's robots seem more intelligent than the others, almost _alive_ sometimes? That's thanks to one of these." He waved the core around a bit while still gripping it carefully. "I've taken to calling them a sentience core- it's an operating core that _also_ lets you program a full personality, if you want it. In other words, not just a robot, but one wholly capable of feeling and thinking and making its own choices- a, well, a _Robian_ , if you will, a Mobian in all ways but being metal instead of flesh and bone."

Rotor was almost beaming. "Yeah, and now that we got our hands on one, we might be able to get a look at the components and make more of them, too."

Elias took in the information, mulling it over before looking between Tails and Rotor. "Well, if anyone can achieve such a feat, it will be you two. Feel free to work on this as a side project when your other duties don't demand your attention."


	2. Do Me A Favor

Well _well_ well _, what have we here?_

The purple wolf/weasel hybrid known as Nack grinned broadly as he examined some wares for sale in the poorly lit, seedy underbelly of the partially destroyed Station Square, his large tooth even more visible than usual. It was well known among the darker parts of Mobius that twice a month, a flea market with goods ranging from 'slightly illicit' to 'immediate arrest if you're caught with this and I'll deny ever knowing you' set up for business, the black market skirting around the shadows of the lower part of the city in an endless dance with the mix of ragtag, semi-organized mixed Mobian and human patrols that tried to work together to keep the peace- and also tried to keep Station Square from being taken over by 'Emperor' Sonic. The massive yellow polar bear Bark, Nack's ever-present and very useful muscle, glanced around furtively as Nack inspected a large pile of various tech that was being offered by one of many scavengers that made their living picking at the carcasses of Sonic's metallic army.

Nack thought he actually recognized one of the slightly singed, damaged pieces of hardware that a young-looking red bandanna-clad, purple-eyed bluebird was eagerly hawking from a large, dirty blue quilt laying on the ground, and _he wanted it_ , because he could probably turn it into a small fortune if he played his cards right. Or, almost even _better_ in this world, favors and _lots_ of them _if_ he was right about what it was.

Deciding to try and play it mostly cool and slightly dumb because this kid very likely had zero clue what exactly he'd potentially stumbled onto, Nack pulled his hat down low over his eyes before picking up a battered, scratched up and slightly melted around the edges silver handheld computer that was folded in on itself and had an oddly shaped circular hook attached to the top of it. He popped it open and it took every fiber of the Nack's being to not laugh with giddiness as he took in the buttons and the general interior design. _Yep, this is exactly what I thought it was._ He carefully snapped the device shut again and lazily waved a hand to catch the bluebird's attention. "This lil' thing. What is it, an' whatcha want for it?"

The bluebird made a face as he noticed what Nack was holding, feathers ruffling slightly in irritation though Nack could tell that the annoyance wasn't aimed at him, but at the device itself. "Oh, yeah, _that_ stupid thing. I actually dunno really, found it a while ago, some kinda game system or PDA I think. I was hoping to fix it up and get it working before I sold it 'cause it'd have been worth more, but I can't get the thing to turn on even after rigging up a charger for it, so I'm gettin' rid of it for cheap. I'll toss in the charger I made for it too, but I'm sellin' as-is, so if you buy it don't come back to me whinin' later if _you_ can't get it to work either."

Music to Nack's ears, though what he _really_ wanted to know is precisely where the avian had found it- _that_ would be worth just as much if not even more than the device itself to the right people. "Hmm, it's an interestin' piece. Whereabouts did ya find it exactly?"

"Sorry, but I don't give away my prime scrappin' spots. Don't wanna give myself competition, y' know?" The bluebird shook his head firmly before his eyes narrowed, the young avian clearly beginning to get suspicious and walking towards Nack with a wary, though curious posture. His tone was more than slightly accusatory as he continued to speak. " _Hey_ , you know what it is, don't you?"

Nack snapped his fingers and Bark lunged forward with a rapid speed that very much belied his size, the polar bear having the young avian contained in a gentle, but inescapable grip around his arms and torso in a mere moment or two. The avian opened his mouth to protest before Nack reached out a hand and forced his beak shut. Several pairs of eyes watched the situation and the general noise level went down a few decibels as it was quickly assessed, but no one in the makeshift stalls or perusing the shady market openly intervened and business quickly resumed as usual- it wasn't the first time a similar scene had played out, and the few enforcers the market hired generally didn't care unless there was either a dead body or enough blood to be noticeable by the Station Square patrols. "Let's us go talk somewhere a lil' more _private_ , yeah? I'll have Bean watch your stuff for ya. No guarantees it won't be blown up when we come back if 'e gets bored while we're gone, but them's the breaks."

After Nack managed to track Bean down at an echidna munitions hawker halfway across the market and extracted a _very_ reluctant, halfhearted promise from the woodpecker that he wouldn't let himself get distracted by anything shiny while they conducted business with 'our new _best buddy_ ', Nack and Bark brought both the handheld and their reluctant companion on a trip away from the market to a set of piers that Station Square had worked very hard to keep intact and up and running, the crisp scent of the water bracing and the gentle dings of buoy bells occasionally issuing into the otherwise quiet, starlight night over the hushed lapping of water against the wooden docks. Nack then nodded at Bark, who finally released the bluebird after they walked to the end of one of the many small docks dotting the harbor and effectively blocked the avian in. "Right. First things first, what's your name kid? We should get t' know each other, since we're _gonna_ be in business together whether you like it or not. All up to you how painful or painless it is, though." Nack jabbed a thumb in Bark's direction. "This here's Bark, and I'm Nack. Ya met Bean for a bit too. I'm th' brains, Bark's the brawn an' Bean's... _Bean_. Real pro with explosives, though."

The avian swallowed nervously, eyes darting around in desperate search for an escape route before realizing that there were none- he'd have to go directly through the two to go forward, and behind him was a five foot drop off the dock they were standing on into the freezing waters of the harbor. He was very annoyed and wanted to refuse to supply even his nickname, but there was nothing for him to do aside from either risk death by hypothermia or work with them. "I go by Fidget," the bluebird finally spat out.

"Well, Fidget, lemme start by sayin' that it's _real_ lucky for ya feathery ass I recognized this before someone else did an' decided t' get nasty about it." Nack tipped his hat back and smirked broadly. "Y' see, if you're smart about it an' work with me, we'll have people in high places owin' us real soon." The hybrid tucked the device away into one of the pouches on the bandolier he usually always wore. "This lil' computer ya found is actually _quite_ th' prize. _An_ ' I'm in a real good mood, so I'm feelin' generous enough t' cut you in on things as a kinda finder's fee, provided ya cooperate with me _fully_ goin' forward."

"Okay, but what _is_ it exactly? Why do you recognize it?" Fidget was trying to turn the situation around and wanting to be in charge, still feeling very off-kilter and not liking this whole thing much at all. He _really_ wished he could fly like the hawks could, because then he could just take off into the sky and not be stuck in this situation.

Nack smirked knowingly and gently pat the bandolier pocket containing the device a few times. "I was hired t' steal it once upon a time back b'fore shit went Sonic-shaped sideways, so I happen ta know that this little baby was a personal computer for th' _dearly_ beloved an' currently _very_ missin' Princess Sally Acorn." As Fidget's beak dropped open in surprise Nack extracted a cigarette pack from another of his pockets and lit one, taking a deep puff before tilting his head skyward and releasing the smoke in a tight stream after returning the pack to the pocket. "'Scuse me while I have a victory smoke."

Fidget was amazed, scarcely able to believe what he'd found. "Wait! But hasn't she been missing since Mobotroplis got stomped? Well, her _an'_ the king both?"

" _Exactly_ , Fidget, new best bud a' mine." The lit tip of Nack's cigarette glowed like an ember, Fidget finding his eyes drawn to and following the bright red as it bounced around while Nack spoke. "Prince Elias is still around a' course, in hidin' somewhere in th' Acorn Archipelago right under Sonic's nose. Whispers say he's been leadin' some kinda insurgence up thataway, but he's only still around 'cause he was _lucky_ enough t' be off on a diplomatic mission when Mobotropolis got smashed." The cigarette glowed more brightly as Nack took a drag. " _That's_ why I was so keen on findin' out where ya copped it- could be a clue there t' where Princess Sally's at, an' _that_ info could get us a lot a' money or favors. The thing is obviously beat up, but it sure don't _look_ like it's been sittin' outside for the past five years, right?" Nack shook his head and took a longer drag this time. "Lemme tell ya, the thing was attached t' the princess's hip _just_ _about_ literally as well as figuratively, which is how come I was never able t' successfully... _acquire_ it for my client at th' time. The Royal Secret Service an' personal bodyguards didn't mess around."

Fidget took everything in and frowned. "So what exactly's the plan that you're dragging me into?" He still didn't trust this Nack guy in the least, but it was hard to argue with him in the presence of Bark's massive bulk. Which, Fidget idly realized, was probably exactly _why_ Nack kept the polar bear around.

Nack polished off his cigarette, nonchalantly tossed his smoldering butt into the harbor and rubbed his hands gleefully. "Glad y' asked. I happen t' know a coffee joint around here that we can use t' deliver a message to th' Prince. I think he'll prolly be _real_ interested in our discovery, don't you? Let's head tha' way- hell, I'll even buy ya a cuppa if Arrin don't toss me out. Like I said, I'm in _real_ high spirits t'night." The hybrid gestured back towards the city. "You first, an' don't try any funny business or th' bear hug won't be so polite this time, got it?"

Our _discovery, huh?_ The avian then shuddered at the implicit threat before stepping in front of the pair, not sure which direction to go before Fidget heard an almost bored "Left" from Nack after they exited the pier. He proceeded to follow Nack's directions that steered them up a sloping, mostly ruined but stable enough to walk on former freeway on-ramp onto the upper, more desirable and much safer half of the city, streetlights glowing brightly and throwing light onto various buildings and mostly clean, well-ordered streets. Eventually Nack orally lead him down the streets to a row of business storefronts, then stopped him at what looked like a small, inviting coffeehouse named 'Northern Breeze Coffee.' The place looked pretty packed for the time of day from what Fidget could see through the window, a lively mix of humans and Mobians (and was that even a four-fingered Overlander or two Fidget spied?) enjoying various hot and cold drinks and what looked like some pastries and sandwiches as well.

Nack let out a sigh. "Welp, head on in. I'll warn ya that th' owner an' I got no love lost b'tween us, but if we wanna get our _good news_ t' the Prince's royal ear holes up north, this is the place t' do it in Central City. If nothin' else she may a' least let you an' Bark stay."

The warmth of the coffeehouse was a more than welcome respite from the chilly night air, and the scent of various baking scents like vanilla, almond and cinnamon wafted around the shop in an alluring mix as Fidget walked in. The din of pleasant chatter and occasional tinks of cups and cutlery filled the room with a homey atmosphere while the hiss of a steam wand and roaring of steaming milk chimed in occasionally. Fidget was pretty sure he liked this place already, several customers turning to the bluebird and smiling and nodding at him and Bark before directing much more dour looks at his purple companion. _Guess Nack has a reputation in this place with more than just the_ _owner_ , Fidget thought with a snicker as they approached the counter, which was manned by a stout, middle-aged female ram with short blonde hair. A brunette arctic fox wearing small square-framed glasses busied herself with making various espresso drinks while a blond male human seemed to be stocking some of the various food items and busing tables. After a cloud of steam around the espresso machine cleared, the fox gave Bark and Fidget happy nods before leveling an icy glare at Nack, though there was some amusement mixed in with it as well.

" _Finally_ come to pay your tab off? Or rather, _Bean's_ tab if we want to get technical?" The fox raised an eyebrow while the ram rolled her eyes before nodding in agreement. "Only been, what, a _year_ now since he just about took my place out?"

Nack sighed dramatically. "I _told_ ya that was an accident, Arrin! He was excited an' we thought we had a bounty cornered. Slippery bugger that one was." He then wiggled his eyebrows, which earned him another, even more exasperated eye roll from the ram before Nack leaned into the counter, speaking more quietly. "But _uh_ actually that's exactly why I'm here tonight. Help me out an' I should be able t' get enough moolah ta finally pay what we owe off, howzat sound?" He then glanced around at the busy shop. "Gotta be on the down low, though, so I don't wanna talk about it out here any more."

"Terinas, Lily, your drinks are up!" Arrin called into the shop, placing two drinks onto a counter to her right before drying her hands on her dark purple apron and shaking her head at the hybrid, responding after the pair of customers had fetched their drinks. "I dunno, Nack, as I recall we seem to have a _rather serious_ imbalance in the 'me helping you' versus 'you helping me' ledger, not even _getting into_ what you owe." She then threw her head backwards towards a small hallway behind her. "I'm on barista duty and we're pretty hoppin' right now so Alex can't be spared, but Ayla can sneak away for a bit. No guarantees, but we'll hear you out." The ram nodded and gestured for the other three to follow her as Arrin went back to her work. The trio followed Ayla down a small hallway that led to a somewhat ramshackle office that was also clearly at least partially used for storage for the business, bags of coffee beans and plastic bags of cups half-filling the room.

Ayla sat down at a small desk that had a rather aged computer on it and glared at Nack. "I'm just gonna say this right now before we even start. This had _better_ not be a ploy for _more_ free stuff, weasel."

"Nope, not at all." Nack waved his hands and shook his head before grinning. "In fact, I gotta real important message for your _pals_ up north that they'll probably _really_ wanna hear. Especially the one that, uh, really likes _acorns,_ if y' catch my drift?"

This seemed to catch the ram's attention, Ayla frowning as she studied Fidget more closely. "I assume this poor boy that you dragged along with you has something to do with this as well?"

"Yep. He's the reason Bark an' I are here. See, he came across somethin' _real_ interesting while he was out scrappin', an' I think some mutually beneficial business can be conducted." Nack extracted the handheld and showed it off.

Ayla blinked in confusion. "Damaged electronics? Surely you know there's scrap like that everywhere, Nack."

"Ah, but y' see, _this_ ain't no ordinary electronic at all." Nack's brow shot skyward as he leaned towards the computer. "Do me a favor an' contact whoever y' know up there real quick an' tell 'em NICOLE's been found in Soumerca. I think you'll get _quite_ th' reaction." The hybrid then returned NICOLE to his pocket. "I'm ready t' wheel an' deal about tellin' 'em where exactly it was found when they are. Figure with how attached Princess Sally was t' the thing, she probably can't be _too_ far from where my buddy Fidget here picked it up, right? An' so that location's worth a good amount a' Mobiums t' the right ears. An' a' course I'm sure I don't gotta mention that there's _another_ set a' ears that would love to know about this too, if your friends decide t' pass this up."


	3. Captive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and sub, hope everyone continues to enjoy!

Doctor Julian Kintobor, former Warlord of the Royal Army and current unwilling captive of 'Emperor' Sonic, wondered if he was seeing things.

He swore he saw one of the mechanical army he was forced to maintain under constant, looming threat of death fighting some of the other assorted units outside the heavily barred window of his prison, a not-so-gilded cage that had the outward appearance of being the research and development building he'd used to run, but _that_ couldn't be right.

The programming for them that he'd fine-tuned himself shouldn't, no, _wouldn't_ allow it.

They _should_ have recognized that their combatant was another of them, even if a different make or even model altogether, and immediately halted hostilities after scanning each other's energy signatures. On the other hand, maybe watching the early morning spectacle could hold his interest for a while- if he stared down at at one more solder or looked at one more line of code he might finally snap. _Plus_ , Julian thought that perhaps this little anomaly could be analyzed and... _put to use_ at some future point.

What his despicable, rotten, double-crossing little twit of a nephew didn't know _could_ potentially be used to hurt said nephew quite a bit down the road, after all.

The thought put the first smile Julian could remember in quite a while on the Overlander's face, bright orange whiskers upturning slightly with mirth as several varied visions of Snively _finally_ getting his comeuppance for his betrayal danced merrily in the genius' head before he forced himself to frown, the scientist well knowing that he was being almost constantly monitored with both audio and visual equipment at all times. _Carefully, carefully. He has that Gaia-damned hedgehog on his side, after all._ Julian put his tools down and wandered over to the window, placing his full attention on the conflict going on outside it- or as much as the bars on the window would allow him to see. He snapped his goggles down over his eyes, using the magnification that he employed while doing delicate welds to try and see if he could at least determine which make and model had apparently gone rogue. _That_ would be an excellent starting point for any future revenge-slash-escape plans.

Wait...was that _Sonic himself_ scrapping with a few of the patrols out there? Julian's eyes widened as he continued to observe the scene through his googles, watching a familiar-looking circular blur bouncing around from robot to robot like a destructive, homing pinball, seemingly heedless of- or perhaps _impervious to_ somehow?- the spikes that the robots should have added to themselves in response to the initial assault thanks to their adaptive AI. Julian realized you could actually follow the wake of Sonic's destructive path if you studied the ground surrounding the melee, a fairly easy to follow trail of small craters, blackened dirt and piles of metal left behind in the aftermath. Of course, the immediate logical question became _why_ Sonic was to all appearances now actively destroying his own army.

Then the hazy, ricocheting figure in the distance finally ceased its movement and Julian had his answer.

It _wasn't_ Sonic, but _someone_ had apparently taken it upon themselves to build a robot similar in a few ways to the 'Emperor.' Julian took in the Mobian hedgehog-shaped black and yellow robot that was gently glistening in the early morning dawn, its dark green optical sensors currently looking around before Julian's eyes fixated on the diamond-shaped dark green object in the strange robot's chest. Ah, a Power Gem was giving the robot power then- _that_ was something Julian hadn't gotten to see in a long while, and now the Overlander found himself very curious about the entire situation indeed. _This_ wasn't a random robot someone had simply tossed together from parts and managed to get operational- someone _really_ knew what they were doing.

His nephew? No, the scientist immediately dismissing the idea with a shake of his head almost as soon at it had formed as he continued to observe the hedgehog 'bot. He was forced (though very loathe) to admit that Snively _could_ indeed construct such a well put together body, but his nephew vastly preferred operating cores, and in fact probably wouldn't even _know_ how to properly fuse a Power Gem into a robot. Julian looked around for someone piloting or controlling it as it began picking through the scrap littered around it...then realized that it seemed to be carefully analyzing the bits of scrap, apparently after something specific, its 'eyes' narrowing in annoyance and an actual frown gracing the robot's 'face' as it tossed aside pieces in its search.

Oh. _Well_ now. It was actually _sentient_ , it seemed, and _fully_ so considering the range of 'emotions' Julian was seeing on display as it patiently walked from pile of scrap to pile of scrap in careful, thorough search of whatever it was after. That made this _infinitely_ more interesting, because he absolutely _knew_ that Snively would never permit a robot, even one that he programmed some variety of personality into, _that_ much freedom, and he would likely counsel Sonic against doing it as well. Julian, of course, had _also_ not built it himself, so the Overlander's mind started wandering into a forest of possibilities.

Given all of the empirical evidence in front of Julian, the forest's maze could only possibly lead to one person, or rather Mobian, at its center: Sir Charles Hedgehog, his old partner in research and development for the Acorn Kingdom, uncle-in-hiding to the 'Emperor' and probably the only creature on the entirety of Mobius that even came close to his own talent for robotics besides his nephew. So Chuck _was_ out there still alive somewhere after all. Perhaps Sonic had decided to take a bit of pity on his relative and let him slip out back during his march on Mobotropolis?

"What _are_ you so interested in that's out that window, uncle? You have me curious, so I thought I'd pop in and ask." Julian's teeth clenched and ground a bit in annoyance as Snively's voice filled the steel-coated room before a video screen lowered down from the ceiling, his nephew's long-nosed face filling the screen after a bit of static, a mountain of parts behind the younger Overlander. "We have repairs that need to be done, you know, and sitting there daydreaming won't get your share of them done."

Julian snapped his goggles back up to the top of his head, offering Snively as much of a glare as he dared before he resumed work repairing Sonic's metallic army, all the better to avoid having his blood boil by staring at his richly dressed, treacherous relative looming down over him. "We _always_ have repairs to be done- I must say, that little insurgent group seems to be getting better and better at breaking your and Sonic's toys. And frankly, I'm surprised you don't _already_ know what I was watching. Don't you _pride_ yourself on having eyes and ears _all over_ Mobotropolis? _Use them_ and let me do the work you're forcing me to do." _I doubt you'd know the significance anyhow._ Perhaps Chuck was building spies that could sneak in and out of the robot-laden capital invisibly and not trigger the organic heat sensors, and Julian was for _some_ _odd_ reason _very_ disinclined to share the information with his _beloved_ nephew.

"My, _my_ , aren't we _testy_ this morning." He could hear the smirk and mockery in Snively's words drifting down from above his head, which only served to infuriate Julian further. "And here I was _trying_ to do my _dear_ uncle a favor and give you a chance to redeem yourself a little in Emperor Sonic's eyes by cooperating so that we wouldn't have to waste time digging through camera footage. _Don't_ you worry, consider my lesson _most thoroughly_ learned. Now, no more distractions allowed- continue with repairs until we bring your breakfast, direct orders from the Emperor." The camera feed cut off before the screen disappeared back into the ceiling.

Julian couldn't _wait_ for the day he would finally have his payback for the last six years- and forget the so-called 'Emperor', he was aiming his sights _directly_ for his nephew when the time came.

* * *

_"Shard, how are things going out there? Did you find any of the newer circuit boards? Over."_

The black and yellow hedgehog robot sighed dejectedly as his father's voice filled his ear via a small two-way radio, shaking his head and frowning before he replied. "Nope. They seem to be getting harder and harder to find, too. I took out probably twenty or thirty of the later models just now and they were all old. I tried to be careful about preserving the chests so there wasn't a mistake. Sorry. Over." Shard sometimes felt guilty when hurting fellow robots was necessary, but he'd long ago had explained to him that it was a necessary evil- _and_ that most of them didn't think or feel like he did. It made the metal hedgehog sad to think about what a dull life that must be as he started running back towards his father's, not _quite_ as fast as he wanted or liked because his body was heavier and meant more for combat than speed, but he got the job done and could run fast enough to be invisible to most things if he wanted to.

 _"It's fine. Go ahead and come back for now and we'll wait a few days for things to die down, then try again alright? Plus I'd like to take a look at that leg of yours and maybe run some diagnostics on it, I know you mentioned it's been stiff and I'd like to get ahead of any big trouble since we don't really have many parts laying around to spare right now OK? Over."_ His father's tone was, as always, warm and encouraging. From the day he'd been activated and chosen the name Shard because he liked the sound of it after reading some books, his creator had insisted on being called his father and Chuck had treated Shard like a son. Shard sometimes genuinely forgot that they weren't flesh and blood relation until things like diagnostics were mentioned. He'd just settled in for the trip home, the world passing by at a pleasantly fast pace, when he heard something small hitting his side and bouncing off. He blinked in confusion, looking down and seeing what appeared to be some kind of small metal dart flying away from him and down into the dirt. _Huh?_

He quickly changed his path to lead directly away from his father's house after he heard yelling voices pursuing him, Shard wondering what was going on but his first, overriding thought to steer the potential danger away from the small hut that he and his father shared. He pushed some extra power from his core to his feet and legs, trying to duck and weave through the forest and avoiding obstacles as the greens and browns of the forest flitted by even more rapidly than before, the sounds of his body and especially the left leg he'd been having issues with groaning aloud in protest at the speed and Shard knowing he was probably pushing his body beyond its limits a bit in the attempt to get away. He could feel his legs actually wobbling slightly as he ran before one of the pistons in his left leg seemed to freeze up, Shard tripping over himself and sighing. _Of_ _course_ something had finally broken on that leg, and at the _worst_ possible time.

"Disabler out!" A young-sounding female voice was followed by the tink and thunk of something landing right next to Shard as he frantically scrambled to get up, then the mechanical hedgehog's world went black after a loud boom as he felt all of his systems suddenly shut off at once.

* * *

"...thought it was Sonic at first, but then Mom and I tried a sleep dart and it bounced off!" The same girl's voice that Shard recognized from earlier followed the statement with a giggle as he slowly felt himself come back online and power being restored to his body. "You wanted to make something that works like Sonic, right? We thought the robot might save you and Rotor some time, so we grabbed it for you! Hopefully it's not too beat up."

 _OK, where am I? How long was I out for?_ Shard glanced around and realized he was laying on a metal floor and looked to be completely surrounded by what looked like bars made of pure electricity- a small, electrified metal cage, then. _Awesome._ He slowly sat up and saw that he was in a large, apparently underground dirt room filled with different scrap metal and piles of operating cores along with several tables piled high with half-disassembled former members of Sonic's mechanical army. _Oh boy._ This looked like the _safest possible_ place to wake up for a robot- a scrapper's, Shard realizing he was actually starting to panic a bit.

A new voice responded to the girl's from what seemed to be a room next door. "Well I want to study it for a while first, but we can _definitely_ use the body so thanks! It seems _really_ different from Sonic's usual badniks, though. It's weird, and if Sonic's planning on tossing something new at us I want us to know what it is." A pair of shuffling feet was followed by a pair of very young-looking Mobians entering what Shard guessed was their workroom, a small cream and orange rabbit on the heels of an orange fox of similar height that had two tails, interestingly enough to Shard in spite of his worry. "Aha! It's functional again. Good, now we can start testing."

"Testing _what_?" Shard clutched his hands in front of his Power Gem protectively and stepped as far back from the pair as he could without zapping himself on the cage bars, looking between the other two with a worried frown.

"Whoa!" The fox looked taken aback, then almost beamed as he noticed the emotions the robot was conveying. _Ah, so this one actually has a sentience core AND a full personality._ That's _a change, and potentially a worrying one. "_ What's your name, if you have one?" He then turned to the rabbit. "Can you go let them know the robot's up and about?"

"On it!"

Shard watched the rabbit run out of the room before he turned his attention back to his questioner. "Shard's my name."

The fox nodded and gestured to himself with a smile. "I'm Miles, though I prefer Tails." Tails tilted his head and approached the cage another step or two, though still kept his distance.

Shard nodded back, glancing around and finally letting his hands relax. "Well, Tails, I admit I _am_ kinda wondering where I am exactly and why. The last thing I remember before waking up is being chased by that girl." He quickly tilted his head in the direction the rabbit had vanished.

Tails shook his head. "Can't say too much about the where. I _can_ tell you, though, that you'll be completely safe as long as you comply." He then glanced around the room and seemed to realize how it must have looked to Shard, frowning before giving Shard an apologetic look. "Sorry about you having to wake up in this room, but it was the only place with enough room to properly set the cage up."

 _"SHARD! You're FINALLY awake! Is everything alright? I've been worried sick!"_ Chuck sounded as worried and panicked as Shard currently felt, Shard wincing at the clear concern in his father's voice.

"Um, some Mobians seem to have found me and brought me somewhere, but for now I'm okay." He tried to keep the dread out of his voice, and was at least partially successful.

"Who are you talking to?" Tails' eyes narrowed in suspicion.

_"Mobians? Please put me on speaker. It's a small button behind your left ear."_

"I'm activating a speaker so you can hear my father, OK?" After Tails nodded, his eyes still filled with distrust, Shard slowly reached up behind his ear and eventually found, then depressed a small square button. "I think I did it."

"Greetings to whoever's out there with Shard," Chuck began cordially, his voice somewhat tinny as it issued through a microphone in Shard's ear. "I hope we've found friends. Know that while Shard _looks_ like a robot, he's very much Mobian at heart and in mind. He's my son, and I beg you to give him a chance."

Tails quirked a brow, still apprehensive though the words _did_ reassure him at least somewhat before Cream came back with both Bunnie and Vanilla in tow. "Rest assured that as long as Shard continues to cooperate with us, no harm will come to him. Who might we be talking to?"

"My name is Charles, but please feel free to call me Chuck."


	4. Movement

"Okay, Harvey. You mentioned something going on in Soumerca, what exactly's happening?" Elias had found it a very busy morning in the Grand Den so far between Cream and Vanilla apparently catching an unusual robot of some kind that Tails was currently inspecting and Harvey Who insisting on a meeting the first free moment Elias had, the brilliant head of his intelligence operations nodding at Elias with a grave expression as they settled into one of two smaller meeting rooms within the Den. The owl had eyes and ears everywhere including some rather dangerous places within Mobotropolis, and the information Harvey was so skilled at gathering had proved invaluable several times to the Order of Acorn in their ongoing fight against Sonic.

The middle-aged owl nodded and settled into a chair, closing his eyes in thought before opening them again, bright yellow eyes filling with determination. "Yes, Your Highness. I would hate to give you false hope and I haven't had time to check things out as much as I'd generally like to before coming to you with something like this, but word has reached me a bit ago from some reliable eyes and ears down in Station Square that...well, that NICOLE's been found. Or so someone that's approached them is claiming, at least."

Elias could feel his heart soar for a moment as he closed his eyes while waves of relief and worry both dashed over him at once. This was the first news of _any_ of his family in just over five years, since he'd come back from one of his first assigned diplomatic missions to the Northern Tundra to discover utter chaos, Mobotropolis completely overtaken by Sonic and the Acorn Archipelago's residents fleeing for their very lives after the fall of Castle Acorn herself, the rest of the royal family's whereabouts all unknown after the siege. Elias had always harbored a huge amount of guilt for being away at the time and therefore unable to participate in Mobotropolis' defense, something Harvey well knew. Harvey had been the one to track Elias down amidst the wreckage in a desperate attempt to get to the prince before Sonic could, after all, along with Elias and Sally's nanny-turned-confidante over the years Rosie, who had arranged to flee with Elias, Harvey and others to what became the Grand Den in the wake of the pandemonium. Letting out a breath, Elias met Harvey's eyes, trying to keep the hope he felt out of his tone. "If NICOLE was found in Soumerca..."

"Then your sister the princess is likely somewhere there as well, yes, considering her attachment to the device." Harvey frowned. "The King and Queen didn't send Princess Sally there, however, or rather I should say we can't find any records of it from what we've pieced together, so I'm not sure if it really _is_ NICOLE. The group that gave one of my agents the news _also_ aren't full Order members, though they _have_ always been both truthful and accurate with their information when they've come to us in the past." Harvey's feathers then ruffled out slightly before he continued to speak. " _Now_ the part I can't say I like very much, Your Highness. Apparently whoever presented themselves to our Soumercan friends- they're insisting on an in-person meeting and won't let my friends reveal their name- wants Mobiums 'and a _whole_ _lot_ of them', quote end quote, to lead us to precisely where they found NICOLE. They've _also_ not so subtly indicated that if we can't pay what they're asking, then they're sure _Sonic_ would."

 _Of course._ Elias' stomach tied itself in knots at the thought of Sonic getting his hands on the information. "Obviously I don't want Sonic anywhere _near_ NICOLE, much less my sister, but I'm not sure what amount we _could_ offer as a payment. We don't exactly have access to the royal coffers any more unless we want to risk running a sting directly into the heart of Mobotropolis. Well, not _just_ Mobotropolis, the castle herself, which seems to be where Sonic's decided to set up his base of operations, and I'm certain by this point he's fortified things _quite_ heavily beyond what I remember of our defenses. Soumerca, though..." Elias got a faraway look in his eyes, though his face was a mask of concentration before he snapped back to reality, conviction filling his voice. "It's quite possible it _is_ NICOLE."

Harvey raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think so? It seems quite far away from the Archipelago, and as I said, there were no records indicating she was sent there on a diplomatic mission or anything along those lines."

Elias smiled sadly. "She was likely seeking out the Floating Island. Actually, knowing my sister, let me amend that. Sally _was_ seeking out the Floating Island, and rumors _do_ tend to place it somewhere over Soumerca these past few years." He rubbed his chin in thought. "I didn't spend as much time with him so I didn't know Sonic nearly as well as she did, of course, but Sally always swore up and down to Mother, Father and me that _something_ had to have happened while she and Chuck were investigating the place with Sonic a few years ago. Something that somehow 'twisted him', her words, into the Sonic that's terrorizing Mobius today. She was always very determined to get to the bottom of it- to try find a way to both help bring Sonic back to himself _and_ likely save Mobius in the process, and my sister was certain the answers were somewhere on that island. This _is_ also Sally we're talking about." He laughed softly. "She would have found a way out there if a chance presented itself even if it involved sneaking out behind everyone's backs which again, knowing Sally, is probably _exactly_ what she did, so _that_ would explain there being no royal records of such a trip."

Harvey processed the information. "I see. Well, in that case I think we should send Ray and have him get in touch with my friends down there who know the lay of the land. I trust Ray implicitly, and I _also_ trust him with matters of diplomacy. We can provide him with a description of how NICOLE looks so he can verify it really _is_ NICOLE before we proceed any further. Surely our mysterious discoverer will at _least_ permit us a physical examination, and that should _also_ buy us some time to figure out how to gather some Mobiums."

"Agreed. If Ray is willing, I'd like him to depart for Soumerca as soon as he can, preferably with Mighty along _just_ in case they run into any trouble or this _does_ ultimately turn out to be some form of trap. Perhaps your contacts down there can meet them in the middle somewhere for an escort?" Elias started looking at a few scattered papers on the table, studying the meager finances of the Order of Acorn to see what blood could be squozen from which stones, something he'd have to run by Rosie later when he had the time.

"I'll ask, but I'm certain they won't have a problem with it." Harvey smoothly got back up out of the chair he'd been sitting in and opened the door. "I'll keep you apprised, but for now it looks like there's someone else waiting for you." He pointed a wing at Tails with a smile, who was hovering around the hallway surrounding the meeting room's door with a rather anxious expression on his face. Harvey exited the room followed by Tails immediately entering and shutting the door behind him.

Elias nodded to Tails. "So how goes the research on this strange robot Cream and Vanilla got their hands on? I agree with you that if Sonic's trying something new, we need to know precisely what."

Tails waved his hands animatedly, pacing the room to burn off excess nervous energy. "I can't believe it! Someone's already done what Rotor and I were planning- well, okay, not exactly, but _really_ close. It makes me feel like _we_ can do it, too, given time and a little programming practice." He finally stood still by the other chair in the room, still fidgeting a bit though he calmed down as he got into his explanation. "His name is Shard, and he's absolutely, _fully_ sentient. Turns out that _Sonic,_ or I guess I should say Snively _,_ didn't build him though. Someone named Charles did, though he asked us to call him Chuck. We haven't told them too much about us since we don't know if we can trust Shard _or_ Chuck yet, but we did promise them both that we won't hurt Shard in any way as long as he cooperates with us. I'd really, _really_ like to study his sentience core programming and power systems some if Shard will let us, though- it would give us a great jump start on our own project."

 _Wait...a rather highly advanced robot...Charles, but wanting to be called Chuck...could it_ possibly _be...?_ Elias felt his mind begin to race. "Did this 'Chuck' reveal much about himself? How exactly did you communicate?"

"Through a speaker that was in Shard's ear. And no, he was as reluctant as us to talk without a face to face meeting." Tails started pacing again. "He wants to meet with Rotor and I, but _we're_ going to _him_ since we didn't want to risk Chuck coming here for obvious reasons. We're keeping Shard here in the scrap room in an electronic cage for now as a kind of insurance, which both Chuck and Shard agreed to, and Vanilla and Cream are going to watch him."

Elias winced and shook his head. "Sorry, I _really_ don't think it's a good idea for both you _and_ Rotor to go. That would leave us bereft of both of our greatest minds in one fell swoop if something happened." He then quirked a brow. "I wonder, though- did Chuck happen to mention if he was a hedgehog?"

Tails stopped pacing and stared at Elias openly. "How did you guess that? I mean, he didn't _say_ he was, but Chuck called Shard his son, and Shard is _definitely_ modeled after a hedgehog, so it stands to reason..." He let the sentence drift off, surprise still evident in his voice.

"You remember the roboticizer that Bunnie got herself partially roboticized in order to destroy? You might not, you would have been pretty young when we managed to take it out. That was one of our first major victories, albeit at a great cost to Bunnie." Elias' lips thinned. "That was one of Chuck's inventions. It was meant to help stabilize or in some extreme cases entirely replace broken limbs that were beyond saving, but we were afraid of Sonic deciding to put it to a _much_ nastier use- namely, turning Mobians and perhaps even humans or Overlanders into complete slaves. The roboticizer was capable of turning someone _entirely_ into a machine, not just parts of them. And with Sonic's fondness of using a metal army, well...you can imagine the potential end result if he'd decided to turn his attention towards fully roboticizing Mobians and others on a large scale. We decided to remove it from the equation." He waved a hand. "Anyhow. My point was that Chuck was always good with machines and robotics, and he _also_ hasn't been seen since the fall of Mobotropolis, so I can't help but wonder if this 'Chuck' that built Shard is that same Chuck."

"Maybe," offered Tails with a shrug. "I _can_ tell you whoever he is, he _really_ knows what he's doing with robotics and programming both. If it wasn't for Shard looking like he does, it would be almost impossible to tell that he's not a Mobian. Which is exactly why Rotor and I want to meet Chuck so badly."

Elias mulled it over. "Tell you what. You and Rotor choose between you who gets to go, and I'll have Vector accompany whichever of you goes. If Chuck turns out to be trustworthy, we can go from there, alright?"

* * *

"How are our _guests_ doing today, hmm?"

Alicia Acorn stiffened at the sound of Snively's voice echoing down the dimly lit, stony hallway, her eyes hardening as she slowly turned them towards the cell door. The irony that she was being detained in the prison cells of her own palace was not even _slightly_ lost on the now-deposed queen. She knew that the former Warlord, Julian, was also being kept somewhere on the grounds as well based on things that she'd overheard after what she assumed to be some form of betrayal or treachery from Snively, though she knew nothing of her husband or her children's fates.

Sally had secretly snuck off to the south, towards Soumerca two weeks before the siege with her parent's full blessings and Julayla beside her to keep her safe, and Elias had been safe up north thanks to her and her husband deliberately deciding to _also_ remove Elias from the line of fire thanks to a providentially timed diplomatic trip, but it had been five long, nightmarish years- were they still safe? Still even _alive,_ at this point? What of her husband, who she hadn't seen since the day Sonic managed to waltz into Castle Acorn's throne room behind his robotic troops?

Snively rolled up a breakfast platter on a metal cart, the by now familiar soft murmur of the cart's wheels clicking coming to a halt as he fully pulled up alongside the bars and revealed a decently sized hot breakfast of wheat cakes along with butter and honey, accompanied by eggs and bacon. Alicia was always surprised at how well she ate, her evening meal also generally of equal size and quality, though she would never risk broaching the subject of _why_ with her captors.

She'd _also_ tried to starve herself at one point, attempting to hold her very life ransom in exchange for them telling her where her beloved Max was, and _quickly_ learned that she would have the food all but forced down her throat if she didn't eat by one of the many, _many_ servant robots that seemed to have mostly free reign of the entirety of the palace. Snively opened the food flap and slid the tray through while Alicia walked over to retrieve it before sitting down at a small table that she'd been provided.

"The same. Thank you for breakfast" Alicia replied mildly, begrudgingly grateful for both the food _and_ a conversation that wasn't her essentially rambling to herself.

Her cellmate she'd had for almost two years now, after all, was in some kind of strange, suspended animation.

"You're most welcome. No changes at all? No movement or anything of that sort from it?" Snively's tone was dry as he seemed satisfied that she was eating, his gaze idly shifting over to the other prisoner, the same question asked twice a day and the same reply given two times a day.

Alicia shook her head between bites of breakfast. "None at all."

Not that Snively would tell her much about the black and red hedgehog who silently floated in the corner of the large cell in some kind of stasis tube they'd had to rig electricity up for, the only other colors a chest tuft of fluffy white fur and four large, golden rings that looked a good deal like one of Nate Morgan's Power Rings encircling the hedgehog's wrists and ankles. Alicia could infer a few things from snatches of Snively's chats over the communicators as she ate, and she'd managed to pick up over time that 'it' was some kind of living weapon that Snively's great-grandfather had been working on that they'd had to go to a _great_ deal of trouble to acquire, and he and Sonic were too afraid to wake 'it' up without a better understanding of 'its' creation and how 'it' functioned. It was these worries, apparently, that had netted her her bizarre cellmate. They wanted someone near 'it' at all times in case 'it' awoke of 'its' own accord, and well, they _already_ had a prisoner with nothing but time on her hands in a deep and rather secure part of the castle.

To Alicia, 'it' sure looked like a he, and she had taken to calling _him_ Shadow thanks to the rich ebony color of most of his fur during their many strange, one-way conversations. As she ate, she gave Shadow a small smile, hoping she wasn't boring him sometimes as she muttered (to herself, really, though she hoped that maybe _some_ part of it was getting through to him and keeping his mind active) about her worries and her hopes.

"Right, then. Sorry, no time for idle chatter today. Be back with your supper later, as usual." Snively wandered off down the corridor, Alicia turning to Shadow with a sigh as she finished off the last of her breakfast- she'd been hoping for an actual bit of conversation, which Snively occasionally indulged her along with chained, supervised walks through the palace grounds when he seemed to have the time for it.

"Oh, well. Just you and I again for the day, right Shadow?"

Alicia's eyes went wide as saucers.

Had his ear actually just _moved a bit_ at her words? She was certain after a few moments that it indeed had and that her mind _wasn't_ playing tricks on her.

She glanced over to the edge of her small table, staring at the emergency call button 'ONLY to be used for medical emergencies or if it seems to be waking up' before almost immediately deciding to keep it to herself.


End file.
